OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s economy will see a solid rebound in coming months as COVID-19 restrictions are loosened, and an expected ramp-up in vaccination is boosting confidence in sustained strong growth into 2022, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said on Tuesday.
FILE PHOTO: Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem walks outside the Bank of Canada building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada June 22, 2020. REUTERS/Blair Gable
Macklem said that as more Canadians are inoculated, the hardest-hit segments of the service industry will be able to begin resuming operations, resulting in strong job growth.
“We expect a solid rebound in the immediate months ahead … with vaccinations expected to ramp up, we can be more confident in sustained strong growth through the second half of the year and into next year,” he told an Alberta business audience.
But Macklem said it would be “some time” before Canada saw a full recovery, noting the pandemic had accelerated a trend toward automation, with many low-wage jobs at high risk of being affected.
He also pointed to a “likely permanent” trend toward e-commerce, predicting the economy may need “significantly fewer” retail workers.
“We are not returning to the same economy we had before the pandemic. Even as it recovers, the economy is adapting to structural changes, and some workers will need to shift to jobs in faster-growing sectors,” he said.
Macklem said that while the forces of digitization and automation will ultimately be positive for the labor market, in the near term they will do little to help those most affected by the pandemic.
“We all have a shared responsibility to get Canadians back to work,” he said, urging workers to consider their own skills and training needs.
Macklem reiterated interest rates would remain at their effective lower bound until economic slack is fully absorbed, which the bank says should occur in 2023.
The Canadian dollar steadied at about 1.2595 per U.S. dollar, or 79.40 U.S. cents, after the speech, near a three-year high.
Additional reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto; editing by Jonathan Oatis
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the country’s merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $1.3 billion in September as imports fell more than exports.
The result compared with a revised deficit of $1.5 billion for August. The initial estimate for August released last month had shown a deficit of $1.1 billion.
Statistics Canada says the results for September came as total exports edged down 0.1 per cent to $63.9 billion.
Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products fell 5.4 per cent as exports of unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys, decreased 15.4 per cent. Exports of energy products dropped 2.6 per cent as lower prices weighed on crude oil exports.
Meanwhile, imports for September fell 0.4 per cent to $65.1 billion as imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products dropped 12.7 per cent.
In volume terms, total exports rose 1.4 per cent in September while total imports were essentially unchanged in September.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
